Our innkeeper told us we had come to Gettysburg at a propitious time: Remembrance Weekend, during which throngs of period-dressed Civil War enthusiasts march through town, remembering President Abraham Lincoln, and decorating the centuries-old graves with fresh flowers.

Second in a series. The first, in our Oct. 18 issue, told of six betrayals of small Balkan countries by big powers over the past two centuries.

As scholars debate whether World War I was an accidental war rife with mistakes and misperceptions or an intentional plan to dominate the world, a new documentary featuring the work of California State University historian Richard Weikart examines the support Germany drew from a virulent form of militarism that its adherents based on biological science.

What caused the terrible world war that began 100 years ago this month? The answer is complicated. Economic trends and social oozes certainly had a big role. Man-centered pride rather than God-centered humility ran rampant among both leaders and followers, with some church hierarchs looking to “progress” rather than Christ for salvation. But many of us were struck in the late 1990s by the irresponsibility of Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich in putting their personal urges ahead of the national interest, and a parallel problem emerged a century ago.

On the occasion of this week’s 40th anniversary of Richard Nixon’s resignation from the presidency, The Washington Post sponsored a reunion featuring Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the Watergate reporters who “brought down” the 37th president.

In fact, Nixon committed political suicide. He thought he could get away with what other politicians had done, but forgot the rules are different for Republicans.

NEWBURY, England—World War I began as most wars do with patriotic fervor and predictions of a quick end. It lasted four years.